Universal Device Testing Interface

ABSTRACT

An operator dashboard (user interface) used for testing disparate devices simultaneously and independently and further capable of asynchronous communication is disclosed.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to patent application entitled, “Universal Device Testing System,” by Samant Kumar et al., and to patent application entitled, “Core Testing Machine,” by Samant Kumar et al., and to patent application entitled, “Set Top Boxes Under Test,” by Samant Kumar et al., and to patent application entitled, “Cable Modems/eMTAs Under Test,” by Samant Kumar et al., and to patent application entitled, “Wireless Routers Under Test,” by Samant Kumar et al., and to patent application entitled, “Hardware Architecture for Universal Testing System: Cable Modem Test,” by Samant Kumar et al., and to patent application entitled, “Hardware Architecture for Universal Testing System: Wireless Router Test,” by Samant Kumar et al., and to patent application entitled, “Test Sequences Using Universal Testing System”, and each of which are hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention is directed to a system for testing devices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a high-level operator dashboard for interacting with the core testing execution environment, according to certain embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates some components of a sample I-Frame, according to certain embodiments.

FIG. 3 illustrates a sample architecture showing bi-directional asynchronous communication between the operator dashboard, web-socket layer and core test execution machine, according to certain embodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates a sample server side Node.Js layer, according to certain embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Methods, systems, user interfaces, and other aspects of the invention are described. Reference will be made to certain embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. While the invention will be described in conjunction with the embodiments, it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the invention to these particular embodiments alone. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover alternatives, modifications and equivalents that are within the spirit and scope of the invention. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

Moreover, in the following description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the invention may be practiced without these particular details. In other instances, methods, procedures, components, and networks that are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art are not described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the present invention.

According to certain embodiments, a testing system provides a separate set of interfaces to be tested for each device that is under testing of the set of devices. Further, such a system is designed to be adaptive by being extendable for testing new devices with corresponding new testing interfaces without fundamentally changing the core architecture of the testing system. As a non-limiting example, the testing system includes a core testing subsystem with a user interface and asynchronous communication among the system components such that new types of devices and new tests can be added and executed in a seamless fashion. According to certain embodiments, the testing system is capable of testing a set of similar types of devices or a set of disparate devices, wherein the plurality of devices are tested simultaneously by the testing system.

FIG. 1 illustrates a high-level operator dashboard for interacting with the core testing execution environment, according to certain embodiments. FIG. 1 shows an operator dashboard 102 (user interface) that is capable of asynchronous communication with a core testing subsystem associated with testing a plurality of devices simultaneously. Operator dashboard 102 includes a plurality of I-Frames 104 a-p in HTML (inline frames). The HTML inline frame element represents a nested browsing context, effectively embedding another HTML page into the current page.

The embodiments are not restricted to the number of I-Frames shown in FIG. 1. The number of I-Frames may vary from implementation to implementation. Each I-Frame corresponds to a slot in the test bench for testing the devices. A device that is to be tested (device under test or DUT) is installed in a slot in the test bench. According to certain embodiments, different types of devices can be installed in the slots in the test bench for simultaneous testing. In other words, the slots in the test bench are not restricted to testing same types of devices. Disparate devices can be tested simultaneously in the test bench. The respective tests associated with each slot do not interfere with tests running in other slots in the test bench. Non-limiting examples of devices under test (DUTs) include set top boxes, cable modems, embedded multimedia terminal adapters, and wireless routers including broadband wireless routers for the home or for commercial networks.

According to certain embodiments, operator dashboard 102 may be implemented as a neutral platform such as a web-based browser. Such a web-based browser type of operator dashboard can offer flexible access to a user that is at the same location as the test bench or from a laptop, mobile phone, tablet, etc., that is remote from the test bench.

According to certain embodiments, the HTML based I-Frames in operator dashboard 102 allow a user to send commands and interact with the core testing execution machine with respect to each DUT and independently of other DUTs installed in the test bench such that the user can run tests for all the installed DUTs simultaneously. Further, the user can control and monitor the tests for all the installed DUTs simultaneously using the 1-Frames of operator dashboard 102. According to certain embodiments, the user can configure slot details (e.g., port numbers, IP address for the slot, etc), configure testing preferences such as push to cloud, export to billing, etc. The I-Frames provide the requisite isolation for executing the tests of each of the DUTs in the test bench simultaneously but independently of each other. In other words, the DUTS installed in the test bench can all be tested in parallel without conflicting with each other.

FIG. 2 illustrates some components of a sample I-Frame, according to certain embodiments. FIG. 2 shows an I-Frame 202 that includes HTML 204, Java script 206 and a client side web-socket 10 208. As described herein, each I-Frame in the operator dashboard (user interface) is mapped to one of the slots in the test bench which is completely different from the run-of-the-mill client-server (web) architecture. In the run-of-the-mill client-server (web) architecture, the user makes a request and a corresponding HTML output is served up to the user's browser. In contrast, the operator dashboard with a plurality of I-Frames, each of which is mapped to a DUT in the test bench, can provide real-time continuous feedback to the user for each DUT once the user initiates test execution for the DUTs. For example, the user can use a respective I-Frame to receive feedback such as testing progress and testing results associated with a specific DUT of the plurality of DUTs undergoing parallel testing on the test bench. The user can also interact with the core testing execution machine using the operator dashboard that includes a plurality of I-Frames. For example, the user/test operator might need to provide feedback to the core testing execution machine such as scanning in passwords, providing feedback on certain conditions associated with the test bench and/or core testing machine. As non-limiting examples, the feedback can include information needed for the testing procedure such as factory reset information, cage closed confirmation, Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) LED confirmation, USB LED confirmation, LAN Coax LED confirmation, MocA WAN LED confirmation, etc. Thus, the user needs to be able to communicate asynchronously with various components of the device testing system. Such asynchronous communication is enabled by the operator dashboard with the plurality of I-Frames and associated web-sockets described in greater detail herein with respect to FIG. 3.

According to certain embodiments, the core testing machine comprises multiple slots (at the test bench) for installing a DUT in each slot. As a non-limiting example, each DUT in a respective slot is associated with its respective lightweight virtualization container (probes abstraction) and core testing executor/processor. For example, the core testing machine may comprise N core testing servers and each of the N core testing servers may be associated with M core testing executors/processors. According to certain embodiments, the core testing machine need not have every slot installed with a DUT in order to begin running the tests. The slots are used as needed. Further, the testing of a given DUT can start and finish independently of the other DUTs installed in the test bench of the core testing machine. According to certain embodiments, the use of DUT testing interfaces (probes) through software containers (virtualization containers) can avoid network conflicts while testing multiple DUTs simultaneously by the core testing machine.

FIG. 3 illustrates a sample architecture showing bi-directional asynchronous communication between the operator dashboard, web-socket layer and core test execution machine, according to certain embodiments. FIG. 3 shows operator dashboard 302 (user interface) including a plurality of I-Frames (304 a-d, 310 a-d, 316 a-d, 322 a-d), a plurality of web-sockets (306 a-d, 312 a-d, 318 a-d, 324 a-d), and a plurality of test execution environments (308 a-d, 314 a-d, 320 a-d, 326 a-d). According to certain embodiments, each I-Frame can communicate asynchronously with a corresponding test testing executor environment. The asynchronous communication can be achieved because the Javascript socket.io on the client side browser dashboard communicates bi-directionally with corresponding web socket (Socket.io) server-side implementation in node.Js. In other words, each I-Frame (304 a-d, 310 a-d, 316 a-d, 322 a-d) can bi-directionally interact with its corresponding web socket (306 a-d, 312 a-d, 318 a-d, 324 a-d) server-side implementation. Each web socket (306 a-d, 312 a-d, 318 a-d, 324 a-d) can in turn interact bi-directionally with its corresponding test execution environment (308 a-d, 314 a-d, 320 a-d, 326 a-d). According to certain embodiments, the communication between the I-Frames and the web socket (Socket.io) server-side uses TCP/IP protocol. According to certain embodiments, the communication between the web sockets (Socket.io) server-side implementation in node.Js and the corresponding testing executor environments uses TCP/IP protocol. In the event that the TCl/IP connection is lost, the I-Frame socket.io on the client side attempts to reconnect to the web socket server side and displays the status of the connection to the user, accordingly. According to certain embodiments, the core test execution environment maintains the current state of the device testing execution and upon communication reconnection, pushes the state information to the browser implemented I-Frames of the operator dashboard. The foregoing feature allows users to refresh or restart their browser at any time without resulting in loss-of-state. Such a feature also allows the user to stop or abort a given test for a corresponding DUT in the test bench. Such a feature further allows a user to monitor the progress of one or more tests simultaneously using different browser sessions. Such browser sessions can be opened on the same device or on different devices. According to certain embodiments, a browser that supports CSS (cascade style sheets), Javascript, JQuery (or other suitable cross-platform JavaScript library designed to simplify the client-side scripting of HTML), and client side socket.IO is used.

FIG. 4 illustrates a sample server side Node.Js layer, according to certain embodiments. FIG. 4 shows user interface middleware 400 that includes a server side Node.Js layer 402 and a socket-IO 404 (web socket layer). Socket-IO 404 is one implementation of the web socket protocol. As previously described, communication between the user interface and the core test execution environment is enabled through the web-socket layer. According to certain embodiments, such a web-socket layer can be implemented as a socket.io server hosted in node.js environment. Such a socket.io server is an event-driven server.

According to certain embodiments, the web socket layer can perform the following:

-   -   Enables real-time asynchronous bi-directional communication.     -   Provides real-time feedback to users on test execution results,         etc., and prompts user for input required for the test         execution.     -   Hides the core test execution environment from test clients.     -   Helps maintain the test execution state with the help of the         core testing executor.

According to certain embodiments, it is possible to keep the web socket layer in the cloud such that the device testing can be executed remotely from anywhere. Probes test the following interfaces on the DUT (when such interfaces are available on the DUT):

-   -   Ethernet Local Area Network (LAN): assigned probe runs         Ethernet-based connection tests     -   Ethernet Wide Area Network (WAN): assigned probe runs         Ethernet-based connection tests     -   Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) LAN: assigned probe sets up         MoCA connection, establishes connection, and runs MoCA-related         connection tests     -   MoCA WAN: assigned probe sets up MoCA connection, establishes         connection, and runs MoCA-related connection tests     -   Wireless 2.4 GHz: assigned probe sets up wireless connection,         establishes connection, and runs WiFi-related connection tests         on 2.4 GHz frequency     -   Wireless 5.0 GHz: assigned probe sets up wireless connection,         establishes connection, and runs WiFi-related connection tests         on 5.0 GHz frequency     -   Phone ports (FXS): assigned probe sets up phone service         simulation, establishes connection, and runs phone-based         connection tests     -   USB: assigned probe runs USB-functionality tests     -   Video: assigned probe runs video-related tests     -   Audio: assigned probe runs audio-related tests

According to certain embodiments, when executing a specific test for a given DUT, the core testing executor/processor loads and reads test configuration information (for example from an XML structure) and identifies the relevant test script that needs to be executed. Inputs that are needed for executing the relevant test script are retrieved and supplied as inputs to the relevant test script. The following is a non-limiting sample script.

-   Create DUT object & Environment Object -   Verify Serial Number -   Verify Warranty -   Check Report Server -   Check DUT Staging

Checks for DUT Serial number in Database or Webservice Get DUT Readiness Information

Checks Webservice for test readiness status of DUT in the test process Configure LXC Environment

-   Clear Environment Temp Files -   Analyze DUT for Factory Reset

Checks ability to login to DUT

Asks operator to manually Factory Reset if unable to login Confirm Factory Reset (if needed)

Waits for operator to confirm that DUT was factory reset and booted up properly

-   Check Ethernet LAN connections to DUT

Ping connections: Eth LAN 1, 2, 3, 4

Fails if any ping to these connections fail Detect DUT

Checks connection to DUT through socket connection Reset Password

Operator scans password which is stored temporarily for use in the remainder of test until finished

-   Login to GUI

Done through web-scraping

-   Get DUT Information and compare values

Information retrieved through web-scraping

-   Enable Telnet

Enables telnet on DUT through web-scraping

-   Factory Reset

Factory resets DUT through telnet command

-   Enable Telnet after Factory Reset

Enables telnet on DUT through web-scraping

-   Confirm Power, WAN Ethernet, and Internet LEDs -   Confirm all LAN Ethernet LEDs -   Confirm WiFi LED -   Configure Wireless Network

Through telnet commands

Sets N Mode

Enables Privacy

Sets WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access)

Removes WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy)

Assigns WiFi Channel to DUT (channel different by slot)

[Channel 1: slots 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16]

[Channel 6: slots 2, 5, 8, 11, 14]

[Channel 11: slots 3, 6, 9, 12, 15]

Verifies changes through GUI

Disables WiFi once done through telnet

-   Check Firmware Version and Upgrade Firmware (if needed)

Firmware version: 40.21.18

-   Cage Closed Confirmation Check

Asks Operator to Close Door on Cage

-   Connect Wireless Card

Waits on shared Resource Server (located on TC) for Resource L2 (Layer 2) Lock

-   -   Lock waiting timeout: 600 sec     -   All L2 Locks are able to run in parallel but not when any L3         (Layer 3) Lock is running

Obtains Lock

Enables WiFi through telnet

Set WiFi Card

-   -   Total Retries allowed: 6 (2 sets of 3 retries)

Ping WiFi from DUT

L2 ARP Test on WiFi: must receive 10/10 ARP packets

-   -   Total Retries allowed: 6 (2 sets of 3 retries)

If either Set WiFi Card or L2 ARP Test Fail after its 3 retries, Ask Operator to Check Antennas

Performs one more retry in full (set of 3 retries each for Set WiFi Card and L2 ARP Wifi Test) after Check Antennas

Disables WiFi through telnet

Releases Lock

-   Wireless to LAN Ethernet Speed Test

Waits on shared Resource Server (located on TC) for Resource L3 Lock

-   -   Lock waiting timeout: 1800 sec     -   L3 Locks must be run one at a time and when no L2 Lock is         running

Obtains Lock

Enables WiFi through telnet

Connects WiFi Card

Iperf3 Speed Test, 5 seconds for UDP Speed Test, 7 seconds for TCP Speed Test, Sending 200 Mbps Bandwidth

Bandwidth must be greater than 60 Mbps on TCP (Reverse) or 70 Mbps on UDP (Forward)

-   -   If Fail after 2 retries, ask operator to Check Antennas     -   Retries up to 2 times more if still Fail     -   Therefore, Total Retries allowed: 4 (2 sets of 2 retries)

Runs sudo iwlist wlan0 scan and returns all Wireless Signals seen

-   -   Results parsed to print all visible SSIDs and its matching         Signal level

Disables WiFi through telnet

Releases Lock

-   Confirm WPS LED -   Confirm LAN Coax LED -   Confirm USB 1+2 LEDs -   Configure WAN MoCA -   Confirm WAN Coax LED -   Ping WAN MoCA -   L2 Test on LAN Ethernet

Arp Test from Eth LAN 1 to Eth LAN 2, 3, 4

Must receive 10/10 on all LAN connections

-   LAN Ethernet to LAN Ethernet Speed Test

From Eth LAN 1 to Eth LAN 2, 3, 4

Iperf3 Speed Test, 5 seconds Reverse and Forward, Sending 1200 Mbps Bandwidth

Bandwidth must be greater than 700 Mbps

Total Retries allowed: 2

-   Check WAN and LAN MoCA Data Rates

Rx and Tx Data rates for both WAN and LAN MoCA retrieved through telnet

All Rates must be greater than 180 Mbps

-   LAN Ethernet to WAN MoCA FTP Speed Test

From Eth LAN 1 to WAN MoCA

Iperf3 Speed Test, 5 seconds Reverse and Forward, Sending 1200 Mbps Bandwidth

Bandwidth must be greater than 60 Mbps

Total Retries allowed: 2

-   LAN MoCA to LAN Ethernet FTP Speed Test

From Eth LAN 1 to LAN MoCA

Iperf3 Speed Test, 5 seconds Reverse and Forward, Sending 240 Mbps Bandwidth

Bandwidth must be greater than 60 Mbps

Total Retries allowed: 2

-   LAN MoCA to WAN MoCA FTP Speed Test

From LAN MoCA to WAN MoCA

Iperf3 Speed Test, 5 seconds Reverse and Forward, Sending 240 Mbps Bandwidth

Bandwidth must be greater than 60 Mbps

Total Retries allowed: 2

-   Enable WAN Ethernet

Through telnet command

-   LAN Ethernet to WAN Ethernet FTP Speed Test

From Eth LAN 1 to Eth WAN

Iperf3 Speed Test, 5 seconds Reverse and Forward, Sending 1200 Mbps Bandwidth

Bandwidth must be greater than 700 Mbps

Total Retries allowed: 2

-   Clear Persistent Logs -   Final Factory Restore

According to certain embodiments, the core testing executor/processor uses a reflection and command design pattern to invoke the relevant configured script(s) corresponding to each DUT being tested. For example, in the command design pattern one or more of the following are encapsulated in an object: an object, method name, arguments. According to certain embodiments, the core testing executor/processor uses the Python “reflection” capability to execute the relevant test scripts for a given DUT. The core testing executor/processor is agnostic of the inner workings of the relevant test scripts for a given DUT.

According to certain embodiments, lightweight software containers are used to abstract the connection of probes to the different DUT interfaces in order to avoid conflicts. Non-limiting examples of virtualization containers are Linux containers. As a non-limiting example, Linux container (LXC) is an operating-system-level virtualization environment for running multiple isolated Linux systems (virtualization containers) on a single Linux control host. In other words, lightweight virtualization containers are used to ensure isolation across servers. By using virtualization containers, resources can be isolated, services restricted, and processes provisioned to have an almost completely private view of the operating system with their own process ID space, file system structure, and network interfaces. Multiple virtualization containers share the same kernel, but each virtualization container can be constrained to only use a defined amount of resources such as CPU, memory and I/O. The relevant test script might need to connect to the DUT interfaces directly or through the virtualization containers to execute the tests. The core testing executor/processor receives the test results from running the relevant test scripts. The core testing executor/processor can further process and interpret such results and can also send the results to the user's browser via web sockets. According to certain embodiments, the respective core testing executors/processors are in communication (e.g., Telnet/SSH secure shell) with the virtualization containers (there may be multiple virtualization containers). The virtualization containers (probes) are in communication with corresponding DUT interfaces using Telnet/SSH/TCP/UDP/HTTP/HTTPS, etc, as non-limiting examples.

According to certain embodiments, a user interface for a testing machine comprises:a plurality of I-Frames, wherein each I-Frame of at least a subset of the plurality of I-Frames is associated with a respective slot of a plurality of slots on the testing machine for installing, in the respective slot, a respective device under test (DUT) of a plurality of DUTs; and a plurality of client side web sockets associated with the plurality of I-Frames, wherein each client side web socket of at least a subset of the plurality of client side web sockets communicates with a corresponding web socket in a middleware web socket layer for achieving isolation and independent testing of each respective DUT from other respective DUTs of the plurality of DUTs.

According to certain embodiments, the middleware web socket layer enables real-time asynchronous communication between the user interface and a core testing environment of the testing machine.

According to certain embodiments, the middleware web socket layer enables real-time bi-directional communication between the user interface and a core testing environment of the testing machine.

According to certain embodiments, the client side web sockets communicate with the middleware web socket layer using TCP/IP communication.

According to certain embodiments, the middleware web socket layer communicates with a core testing environment of the testing machine using TCP/IP communication.

According to certain embodiments, the middleware web socket layer can be a cloud based implementation.

In the foregoing specification, embodiments of the invention have been described with reference to numerous specific details that may vary from implementation to implementation. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. 

We claim:
 1. A user interface for a testing machine, the user interface comprising: a plurality of I-Frames, wherein: each I-Frame of at least a subset of the plurality of I-Frames is associated with a respective slot of a plurality of slots on the testing machine for installing, in the respective slot, a respective device under test (DUT) of a plurality of DUTs; and a plurality of client side web sockets associated with the plurality of I-Frames, wherein: each client side web socket of at least a subset of the plurality of client side web sockets communicates with a corresponding web socket in a middleware web socket layer for achieving isolation and independent testing of each respective DUT from other respective DUTs of the plurality of DUTs.
 2. The user interface of claim 1, wherein the middleware web socket layer enables real-time asynchronous communication between the user interface and a core testing environment of the testing machine.
 3. The user interface of claim 1, wherein the middleware web socket layer enables real-time bi-directional communication between the user interface and a core testing environment of the testing machine.
 4. The user interface of claim 1, wherein the client side web sockets communicate with the middleware web socket layer using TCP/IP communication.
 5. The user interface of claim 1, wherein the middleware web socket layer communicates with a core testing environment of the testing machine using TCP/IP communication.
 6. The user interface of claim 1, wherein the middleware web socket layer can be a cloud based implementation. 